In this paper we describe a two-week residential summer game camp for rising 9th and 10th grade s... more In this paper we describe a two-week residential summer game camp for rising 9th and 10th grade students and a four-week high school teacher professional development course. We present survey results that indicate our approach results in increased computer programming knowledge and self-confidence for both students and teachers. Our project aims to use a holistic game creation approach to increase student interest in computer science by directly teaching to students in a summer camp, instructing the teachers during a 4-week professional development course, and finally by supporting teachers as they use our curriculum in their high schools.
research and scholarship directed toward “humane gaming,”a term that includes medical and educati... more research and scholarship directed toward “humane gaming,”a term that includes medical and educational game applications and socially conscious gaming. At the University of Denver (DU), we believe game development is an interdisciplinary field requiring some appreciation for both the technical and creative, with a deep passion in at least one area. Our two new game development majors are built upon a four-way partnership between computer science, digital media studies, electronic media arts design, and studio art. We created our program with the following goals in mind: • Developing a humane emphasis. We have coined the phrase “humane gaming ” to describe our efforts to direct this new academic discipline into benevolent applications. As an intended side effect, we conjecture that this emphasis will help to attract women to the computer/videogames development field. • Fostering “whole brain education. ” By this we mean developing students ’ abilities in both analytical and creative t...
In a two-week residential game camp we used the Greenfoot IDE to teach java programming to rising... more In a two-week residential game camp we used the Greenfoot IDE to teach java programming to rising 9th and 10th graders. Students created their own computer games which required learning how to write java programs, create a game design, and create art assets. In this paper we focus on the computer science pedagogy used and describe the initial design of an augmented game development framework for the Greenfoot environment. This framework includes classes for the following useful game elements: Animation, Projectiles, Side Scrolling Worlds, Text Boxes, Clocks and Timers. We describe these classes, discuss the effectiveness of each, and describe potential improvements to their implementation and design. We also report the results of a survey conducted during each of the camps. Categories and Subject Descriptors
... Thinking Debra Austin College of Education University of Denver USA daustin@law.du.edu Rafael... more ... Thinking Debra Austin College of Education University of Denver USA daustin@law.du.edu Rafael Fajardo Electronic Media Arts Design and Digital Media Studies University of Denver USA rfajardo@du.edu Scott Leutenegger ...
Preamble: Here I want to use the rhetorical conceit of the features / benefits list to talk about... more Preamble: Here I want to use the rhetorical conceit of the features / benefits list to talk about the development of two games Crosser™ & La Migra™. This gambit seems only fitting as the games also have to serve double and even triple duty; as art, as political commentary, and as play. There are several voices at play in this paper, and they assert themselves without warning.
I have been exploring how very simple algorithms might be able to generate complexly interrelated... more I have been exploring how very simple algorithms might be able to generate complexly interrelated lines of great beauty. I’ve been writing code hoping to be surprised, and sometimes succeeding. I have been sharing them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Ello, a further experiment in dissemination.
I’m not the first to make code drawings. I’m making them with tools few others would think to use.
The relationship between archives, writ large, and code drawings is redolent for me, fraught with... more The relationship between archives, writ large, and code drawings is redolent for me, fraught with anxieties and questions. I am a digital artist and designer, trained in and among the pre-digital traditions in art and on the cusp of digitization in design practices. My generation received the aesthetic that our work should strive to be enduring, and that as a signal of seriousness of purpose we should use materials and media that were archival, that we should, in fact and in deed, adopt archival modes of production, archival habits of practice. The definitions and models of our craft traditions were infused with durability.
This is the script for a scholarly and artistic performance. The author shares a series of person... more This is the script for a scholarly and artistic performance. The author shares a series of personal reflections and meditations on the synthetic advertising persona Juan Valdez. Themes covered in these meditations include heroism, masculinity, and interrogations of a migrant's sense of cultural identity.
Page one of this timeline shows the lifespans of prominent typeface designers and is overlaid wit... more Page one of this timeline shows the lifespans of prominent typeface designers and is overlaid with dates of introduction of technologies that have affected typographic expression. It covers 1450-2010 a.c.e. It attempts to reconcile the taxonomies and classification systems that have been used to create the narratives of the history of typography.
The succeeding pages reveal how much work is left to do. It lacks contributions by women. It lacks the histories from Asia. All entries are supported by at least one trusted source and are footnoted.
This is a a multi-page timeline. Each page fits on a (US) Legal size sheet of paper, 14 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall, landscape, for best legibility.
In this paper we describe a two-week residential summer game camp for rising 9th and 10th grade s... more In this paper we describe a two-week residential summer game camp for rising 9th and 10th grade students and a four-week high school teacher professional development course. We present survey results that indicate our approach results in increased computer programming knowledge and self-confidence for both students and teachers. Our project aims to use a holistic game creation approach to increase student interest in computer science by directly teaching to students in a summer camp, instructing the teachers during a 4-week professional development course, and finally by supporting teachers as they use our curriculum in their high schools.
research and scholarship directed toward “humane gaming,”a term that includes medical and educati... more research and scholarship directed toward “humane gaming,”a term that includes medical and educational game applications and socially conscious gaming. At the University of Denver (DU), we believe game development is an interdisciplinary field requiring some appreciation for both the technical and creative, with a deep passion in at least one area. Our two new game development majors are built upon a four-way partnership between computer science, digital media studies, electronic media arts design, and studio art. We created our program with the following goals in mind: • Developing a humane emphasis. We have coined the phrase “humane gaming ” to describe our efforts to direct this new academic discipline into benevolent applications. As an intended side effect, we conjecture that this emphasis will help to attract women to the computer/videogames development field. • Fostering “whole brain education. ” By this we mean developing students ’ abilities in both analytical and creative t...
In a two-week residential game camp we used the Greenfoot IDE to teach java programming to rising... more In a two-week residential game camp we used the Greenfoot IDE to teach java programming to rising 9th and 10th graders. Students created their own computer games which required learning how to write java programs, create a game design, and create art assets. In this paper we focus on the computer science pedagogy used and describe the initial design of an augmented game development framework for the Greenfoot environment. This framework includes classes for the following useful game elements: Animation, Projectiles, Side Scrolling Worlds, Text Boxes, Clocks and Timers. We describe these classes, discuss the effectiveness of each, and describe potential improvements to their implementation and design. We also report the results of a survey conducted during each of the camps. Categories and Subject Descriptors
... Thinking Debra Austin College of Education University of Denver USA daustin@law.du.edu Rafael... more ... Thinking Debra Austin College of Education University of Denver USA daustin@law.du.edu Rafael Fajardo Electronic Media Arts Design and Digital Media Studies University of Denver USA rfajardo@du.edu Scott Leutenegger ...
Preamble: Here I want to use the rhetorical conceit of the features / benefits list to talk about... more Preamble: Here I want to use the rhetorical conceit of the features / benefits list to talk about the development of two games Crosser™ & La Migra™. This gambit seems only fitting as the games also have to serve double and even triple duty; as art, as political commentary, and as play. There are several voices at play in this paper, and they assert themselves without warning.
I have been exploring how very simple algorithms might be able to generate complexly interrelated... more I have been exploring how very simple algorithms might be able to generate complexly interrelated lines of great beauty. I’ve been writing code hoping to be surprised, and sometimes succeeding. I have been sharing them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Ello, a further experiment in dissemination.
I’m not the first to make code drawings. I’m making them with tools few others would think to use.
The relationship between archives, writ large, and code drawings is redolent for me, fraught with... more The relationship between archives, writ large, and code drawings is redolent for me, fraught with anxieties and questions. I am a digital artist and designer, trained in and among the pre-digital traditions in art and on the cusp of digitization in design practices. My generation received the aesthetic that our work should strive to be enduring, and that as a signal of seriousness of purpose we should use materials and media that were archival, that we should, in fact and in deed, adopt archival modes of production, archival habits of practice. The definitions and models of our craft traditions were infused with durability.
This is the script for a scholarly and artistic performance. The author shares a series of person... more This is the script for a scholarly and artistic performance. The author shares a series of personal reflections and meditations on the synthetic advertising persona Juan Valdez. Themes covered in these meditations include heroism, masculinity, and interrogations of a migrant's sense of cultural identity.
Page one of this timeline shows the lifespans of prominent typeface designers and is overlaid wit... more Page one of this timeline shows the lifespans of prominent typeface designers and is overlaid with dates of introduction of technologies that have affected typographic expression. It covers 1450-2010 a.c.e. It attempts to reconcile the taxonomies and classification systems that have been used to create the narratives of the history of typography.
The succeeding pages reveal how much work is left to do. It lacks contributions by women. It lacks the histories from Asia. All entries are supported by at least one trusted source and are footnoted.
This is a a multi-page timeline. Each page fits on a (US) Legal size sheet of paper, 14 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall, landscape, for best legibility.
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Papers by Rafael Fajardo
I’m not the first to make code drawings. I’m making them with tools few others would think to use.
The succeeding pages reveal how much work is left to do. It lacks contributions by women. It lacks the histories from Asia. All entries are supported by at least one trusted source and are footnoted.
This is a a multi-page timeline. Each page fits on a (US) Legal size sheet of paper, 14 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall, landscape, for best legibility.
I’m not the first to make code drawings. I’m making them with tools few others would think to use.
The succeeding pages reveal how much work is left to do. It lacks contributions by women. It lacks the histories from Asia. All entries are supported by at least one trusted source and are footnoted.
This is a a multi-page timeline. Each page fits on a (US) Legal size sheet of paper, 14 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall, landscape, for best legibility.